An auction in which the seller offers two or more identical items for sale is called a Multiple Item Listing (also known as a Dutch Auction). Unlike a single-item auction, Multiple Item Listings can have more than one winner. Each winner can win different quantities of the items on offer.

How to bid on a Multiple Item Auction

To bid on a Multiple Item Listing, click the "Place Bid" button on the item page. Enter the number of items you're interested in and the price you're willing to pay per item.

In a Multiple Item Listing (or any Dutch Auction) there can be more than one winner, but each winning bidder pays the same price per item. The price each winner pays per item is equal to the lowest successful bid.

Example:

For a listing with 10 available items and 2 bidders:

• Bidder A bid for eight items at £10 each.

• Bidder B bid for three items at £11 each.

The outcome is:

• Bidder B placed the highest per-item bid, so they win all three items they bid for.

• Bidder A wins the remaining seven items.

• Both Bidders pay £10 per item, as this was the lowest successful bid.

You can see what bids have been placed by clicking the "Bidders list" link on the item description page.

• Bids that are not currently winning show their per-item bid amount

• Bids that are winning at least one item all display the lowest winning bid.

• Some of the winning bidders may have bid more than the lowest winning bid. Bids higher than the lowest winning bid are not disclosed.

eBay doesn't place proxy bids in Multiple Item Auctions

In a Multiple Item Auction, eBay places the bid you enter, rather than the lowest amount required for you to remain the high bidder. This means that if you're the only bidder, you'll pay the amount you bid per item, not the lowest amount necessary to win the auction (i.e. the starting price).

How are bids ranked?

Bids are ranked in order of bid price per item, regardless of the number of items bid for. For example, a bid for 3 units at £11 per unit ranks higher than a bid for 8 units at £10 per unit. If two bids have the same price per item, the earlier bid is given priority, regardless of the number of items bid for.

Remember that the Bidders List doesn't display winning bidders' actual bids. The Bidders List displays the price the winning bidders would pay if the auction ended immediately. In the example above, although Bidder B bid £11 per item, the bid displayed on the Bidders List would be £10--the lowest winning bid. If another bidder wanted all 10 items, they'd have to bid more than £11 per item.

How to change your bid

A bid on eBay is a binding contract. In general, it's not possible to cancel your bid. See Can I cancel or retract my bid?

As with any single-item auction on eBay, you can't lower your per-item bid price. However, you can lower the number of items you bid for, as long as the total amount you bid (number of items multiplied by price per item) is the same or higher than your original bid.

Example:

• In a 10-item auction, you bid for 5 items at £4 each (5 x £4 = £20).

• You then decide you only want 4 items. Your new bid must be at least £5 per item (4 x £5 = £20)

To change the quantity and per-item bid, click the "Place Bid" button on the item detail page.

You can refuse partial quantities

If you win some, but not all, of the quantity you bid for, you aren't bound to the purchase. In the above example, Bidder A bid on eight items, but won only seven. Bidder A can tell the seller they don't want to complete the purchase, because Bidder A did not win the quantity they bid on. Sellers shouldn't file Unpaid Item Disputes in cases where you withdraw from the purchase because you didn't win all the items you bid for.